Big Blue's Transformation

[BigBrother-84]

I remember getting stuck like that once, and we only got out by finding just enough boards to dig out and put under the tires to let us move forward

In fact, before asking for help, we tried to throw lugs and rocks in the mud hole under the tire.

A lot.

We discovered this was more a black hole with no end.

I suspect there's a guy on the other side of the planet who was surprised to find a growing bump in his garden.

[Gary Lewis]

I suspect there's a guy on the other side of the planet who was surprised to find a growing bump in his garden.

Another trick that my father and I did was to use the bumper jack and get the rear end in the air and push the vehicle forward off the jack. But that was with a '54 Plymouth and it was only the rear tires that were "stuck". We'd driven onto a frozen field and gone hunting, only to come back and find the ice had melted.

[BigBrother-84]

We'd driven onto a frozen field and gone hunting, only to come back and find the ice had melted.

 

[Gary Lewis]

We'd driven onto a frozen field and gone hunting, only to come back and find the ice had melted.

http://www.garysgaragemahal.com/uploads/6/5/8/7/65879365/head-rotfl-57x22_orig.gif

Got the Windsor over-the-radiator air inlet in the mail today and, as I suspected, the longer 460 causes a problem. In the pic below I've drawn a red circle where the inlet hits the A/C belt, and while the outlet of it is resting on the through-the-core support style inlet, I don't think that it'll fit even when that inlet is removed.

But I'll pull the existing inlet tomorrow and get a better idea of what the problem(s) are going to be and let y'all know.

[Gary Lewis]

Got the Windsor over-the-radiator air inlet in the mail today and, as I suspected, the longer 460 causes a problem. In the pic below I've drawn a red circle where the inlet hits the A/C belt, and while the outlet of it is resting on the through-the-core support style inlet, I don't think that it'll fit even when that inlet is removed.

But I'll pull the existing inlet tomorrow and get a better idea of what the problem(s) are going to be and let y'all know.

I pulled the 460 air inlet today and played with fitting the Windsor inlet. But without modifications it wasn't about to go. So I took a wedge out of the top piece, which angled it away from the A/C belt enough to clear. And then I cut the lower piece, as you can see below where the yellow triangle is. And I used some red tape to bed the bellows.

I'm thinking that epoxy resin and fiberglass will allow me to:

• Close up the wedge on the top piece where the red tape is

• Make the bend in the bellows permanent, replacing the red tape that's causing it to bend in the pic

• Fill in the yellow triangle where it turns to make the bend into the air filter box

Does this seem reasonable? Jim - I tagged you 'cause I'm sure you have the best handle on fiberglass and resin.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I pulled the 460 air inlet today and played with fitting the Windsor inlet. But without modifications it wasn't about to go. So I took a wedge out of the top piece, which angled it away from the A/C belt enough to clear. And then I cut the lower piece, as you can see below where the yellow triangle is. And I used some red tape to bed the bellows.

I'm thinking that epoxy resin and fiberglass will allow me to:

• Close up the wedge on the top piece where the red tape is

• Make the bend in the bellows permanent, replacing the red tape that's causing it to bend in the pic

• Fill in the yellow triangle where it turns to make the bend into the air filter box

Does this seem reasonable? Jim - I tagged you 'cause I'm sure you have the best handle on fiberglass and resin.

Could be done but take note that most epoxy doesn't bond well -if at all- to polyethylene or polypropylene.

I'm not sure which this duct is made of....

You have the G-Flex which is well documented to bond these plastics with proper surface prep (alcohol wipe, scuff with 80 grit paper and quickly pass over with a propane torch)

I think I linked all this when I first suggested G-Flex to you.

Given the amount of stuff you've got going on there I would probably use some Cardboard Aided Design and hot glue to span the wedge after taking a heat gun to smooth the transition at the apex.

I'm not really sure what happens at the top covered by red tape. Maybe more of the same?

You could certainly bridge the bellows to keep it bent.

At that point I'd be considering mocking the whole center section up in foam as a male mold and replacing it entirely.

 

[Gary Lewis]

Could be done but take note that most epoxy doesn't bond well -if at all- to polyethylene or polypropylene.

I'm not sure which this duct is made of....

You have the G-Flex which is well documented to bond these plastics with proper surface prep (alcohol wipe, scuff with 80 grit paper and quickly pass over with a propane torch)

I think I linked all this when I first suggested G-Flex to you.

Given the amount of stuff you've got going on there I would probably use some Cardboard Aided Design and hot glue to span the wedge after taking a heat gun to smooth the transition at the apex.

I'm not really sure what happens at the top covered by red tape. Maybe more of the same?

You could certainly bridge the bellows to keep it bent.

At that point I'd be considering mocking the whole center section up in foam as a male mold and replacing it entirely.

Thanks, Jim. The parts are fairly soft and when I used the Dremel I had to run it on low speed to keep the stuff from balling up. Don't know what that means for the type of material though.

But are you suggesting GFlex on fiberglass instead of resin? Or just gluing plastic panels on with GFlex?

At the top I was thinking I'd wrap the tube with fiberglass cloth and saturate it with resin to seal the wedge I took out. But if I used a piece of aluminum or some such to pull the gap together and pop riveted it to the plastic I could seal it with aluminum duct tape.

At the bottom I need to attach the middle to the piece that snaps into the air filter box as that piece wouldn't be easy to replicate. But I could probably make the sides and the top curve of the triangle out of aluminum and pop rivet it to the plastic pieces. Then cover all of that with my insulation & aluminum duct tape, which would seal it.

 

[ArdWrknTrk]

Thanks, Jim. The parts are fairly soft and when I used the Dremel I had to run it on low speed to keep the stuff from balling up. Don't know what that means for the type of material though.

But are you suggesting GFlex on fiberglass instead of resin? Or just gluing plastic panels on with GFlex?

At the top I was thinking I'd wrap the tube with fiberglass cloth and saturate it with resin to seal the wedge I took out. But if I used a piece of aluminum or some such to pull the gap together and pop riveted it to the plastic I could seal it with aluminum duct tape.

At the bottom I need to attach the middle to the piece that snaps into the air filter box as that piece wouldn't be easy to replicate. But I could probably make the sides and the top curve of the triangle out of aluminum and pop rivet it to the plastic pieces. Then cover all of that with my insulation & aluminum duct tape, which would seal it.

I wouldn't use aluminum if you're going to make up the gaps with fiberglass.

Just take a piece (pieces?) of cardboard and hot glue them together bridging the gaps.

Wrap over it with enough fiberglass to make it rigid.

You could use polyester resin to lay up the fiberglass but I assure you it will not bond to the plastic ends you need to attach to the bottom of the airbox and the slit opening sitting on the radiator support.

A hybrid method where the fiberglass is laid up with polyester and then glued to the end(s) with G-flex would probably work okay.

[Gary Lewis]

I wouldn't use aluminum if you're going to make up the gaps with fiberglass.

Just take a piece (pieces?) of cardboard and hot glue them together bridging the gaps.

Wrap over it with enough fiberglass to make it rigid.

You could use polyester resin to lay up the fiberglass but I assure you it will not bond to the plastic ends you need to attach to the bottom of the airbox and the slit opening sitting on the radiator support.

A hybrid method where the fiberglass is laid up with polyester and then glued to the end(s) with G-flex would probably work okay.

I was thinking of just using aluminum and not fiberglass. At the top I'd just need a way to take the strain of closing the wedge off of the tape, and a piece of aluminum riveted in place would do that. At the bottom the triangle would be made up of aluminum pieces that overlap the plastic and are riveted in place. And in the middle I need to do something to force the bellows to bend. All of that would be covered with aluminum tape and then the insulation.

But I understand what you are saying about the fiberglass and using cardboard to serve as the mold. And I understand what you are saying about polyester or epoxy resin not adhering to the plastic. But I only have fairly small tubes of GFlex and it doesn't really flow all that well. Hmmm...

Let me get the pieces out on the work table and take some pics of different approaches. Then maybe we can make a more educated decision. But that'll be tomorrow after church.

[85lebaront2]

I was thinking of just using aluminum and not fiberglass. At the top I'd just need a way to take the strain of closing the wedge off of the tape, and a piece of aluminum riveted in place would do that. At the bottom the triangle would be made up of aluminum pieces that overlap the plastic and are riveted in place. And in the middle I need to do something to force the bellows to bend. All of that would be covered with aluminum tape and then the insulation.

But I understand what you are saying about the fiberglass and using cardboard to serve as the mold. And I understand what you are saying about polyester or epoxy resin not adhering to the plastic. But I only have fairly small tubes of GFlex and it doesn't really flow all that well. Hmmm...

Let me get the pieces out on the work table and take some pics of different approaches. Then maybe we can make a more educated decision. But that'll be tomorrow after church.

For what you are going to be doing, air vs water is the critical need. If you simply take the air inlet and duct it up almost to the inside of the hood you will be above the distributor. You could probably just leave the duct off for fording as the inlet to the filter housing is about the top of the inner fender.